MIAMI PALMETTO H.S. BANDS

Members audition each spring and are placed according to experience and ability level in one of the bands, with Symphonic being for the more advanced players.  Both groups perform challenging repertoire ranging from educational or popular compositions through literature from the standard band and wind ensemble repertory at their performances both on and off campus.  The bands participate in the Florida Bandmasters Association Concert Festivals, and the members also participate in the Solo/Ensemble Festival where many received the Superior rating.  Band members have also been selected for participation in the University of Miami Honor Band, Superintendents Honor Band, Tri-State Music Festival, and the South Florida Youth Orchestra.

Marching Panther Band:

The Marching Panther Band is a 110 member organization consisting of members of the Symphonic and Concert Bands as well as the Auxiliary which is comprised of the Chatonettes (Dance Line) and the Color Guard.  They perform at all football games as well as in various competitions, festivals, and parades.  They recently completed a successful fall season where they received awards for Superior Drum Majors, Auxiliary, Percussion, Music, Marching, General Effect, and Third Place in Class AA at the Lancer Joust Regional Competition at John I. Leonard High School.  They also received a Superior Rating at the 2001 Florida Bandmasters' Association District Marching Band Performance Assessment.  In the spring of 2001 the band traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana where they performed at the Jazzland Theme Park, and in April 1999 the band traveled to Washington, D.C. where they performed at the Pentagon, and Richmond, VA where they received a Superior Rating in the Azalea Festival Parade.  The band was one of the only six bands to perform in the 1998 and 2001 Orange Bowl Parades.  They are really excited about performing in the 2002 Cotton Bowl Festival.

The Drum Majors are Brian Binker and Kassiano Bottini.  The Chatonette Captain is Katie Soven and the Color Guard Captain is Jennifer Kavanaugh.  The band staff includes: Ben Lorenzo (Drill Design), Denis Llinas (Music Arranging), Oscar Escobar (Marching), Rolando Bazan and Silvia Romero (Percussion), Allison Dinsmore (Color Guard), Krissa Ramsay (Dance), Nicole Renick and Alix Ruiz (Dance Sponsors).  The Band Director is Paul Smith.  The Principal of Miami Palmetto Senior High School is Janet Hupp.

Jazz Ensembles:

Jazz Ensembles at Miami Palmetto Sr. H.S. consist of the 5 member Jazz Combo and two 20 member Jazz Bands.  These groups provide students with a wide range of performing opportunities in the jazz idiom both on and off campus.  Last Spring both groups performed at the F.I.U. Jazz Festival, where they received a clinic by Denis Wilson of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra.